In actually, however, you’re wasting time; your “cleaning” activity costs twice as much money because all you’ve achieved is an evenly soiled floor.

Now, someone else will have to go back and mop the same floor again to remove the soil you dispersed to truly get it clean.

Bittenbender went on to state, “If your water is really only clean for 30 minutes, but you clean with it for four hours, you’ve wasted three and one-half hours.”

If custodial supervisors and facilities managers viewed productivity through the SROT lens, they would much rather you pause for a few moments to change the water and truly clean for 30 more minutes.

With an air of frustration, Bittenbender concluded, “There are so many examples of this: Mopping with dirty water, vacuuming with dirty filters and full bags — oh, so many.”

Are You Intrigued?

Be sure to check out the January 2013 issue of Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine and read a detailed assessment of soil removal over time (SROT) from Allen Rathey, president of InstructionLink/JanTrain Inc. and a champion of true efficacious cleaning.